Casey Currie Interview & Feature - CORR Conquest

Young gun Casey Currie has visited just about every corner of the off-road world. He's gone fast: Casey has spent time sharing driving duties with his father Ray behind the wheel of their bright yellow JeepSpeed Cherokee. He's assaulted the Glamis dunes in a sandrail and raced pro Supermoto on a lime green Kawasaki KXF. He's gone slow, too, as a rockcrawling competition spotter for Kevin Hawkins. "I have a well-rounded background in the off-road world," he comments.

Although Casey has spent lots of time in the wide-open desert, his most recent focus turned toward the closed courses of Championship Off Road Racing (CORR). As a driver for Art Schmitt Racing, Casey has campaigned in CORR's Pro Lite division behind the wheel of a Nissan Frontier. His varied off-road background gives him a unique perspective. "In short-course, there's no excuse for a bad race or a bad move. If you make a mistake, you don't have time to make up for it. Desert racing is all about endurance, and there's no aspect of endurance in CORR."

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Driving in both the desert and on CORR's closed courses has also hammered home the demanding, precise nature of short-course driving. "Any CORR racer could go out and win a desert race. Most desert drivers, with the exception of guys like Jerry Whelchel, couldn't go out and win a CORR race."

Strong words? Absolutely, but they're spoken by someone who's seen both ends of the racing spectrum. Casey has found a way to carry over his racing credentials into the business spectrum. In addition to running a full CORR schedule, he owns two businesses. The first, Active Motosport, is a purveyor of accessories and performance parts for dirt bikes, street bikes, quads, and UTVs. The second, Moto 247, is "a social networking website for moto sports fanatics."

To illustrate the differences between the Frontier on your local Nissan dealer's lot and the one Casey campaigns in CORR...

CORR's Pro Lite division is sometimes used as a stepping stone by drivers who ultimately want to go head-to-head in CORR's big-boy Pro 2 and Pro 4 fullsize classes. Casey's end game is a bit different and hearkens back to the days of the Mickey Thompson Off-Road Grand Prix Series, which toured U.S. stadiums for nearly two decades. Casey's hoping for stadium racing's resurgence. "I'd like to someday race in front of 100,000 fans, and that will happen in the stadiums. Pro 2 and Pro 4 trucks are amazing, but they need more room to run than you can find in a stadium. Pro Lite is the only type of truck that will make it back into the stadiums."

Pro Lite also has a big youth factor. "Being a young gun, a Pro Lite fits my age group better. It helps me relate better to my own Y generation. I can talk to someone and say, 'Hey, I drive a Nissan Frontier,' and that person will probably say, 'Yeah, me too!'"

Ray and Casey Currie turned a few dozen Dzus quick-release tabs.

Casey's first season on the CORR Pro Lite circuit was a series of ups and downs, ending in a solid top-10 slot after 16 fast and furious rounds held in Chula Vista, California; Bark River, Michigan; and Crandon, Wisconsin. "My highlight was getting on the podium in Chula Vista using an all-terrain Nitto Terra Grappler tire. That hasn't been done by anyone for the past three years. My worst moment was when I crashed at Bark River and the safety crew flipped me onto my roof and dragged me while upside down. Hot oil was running down my legs. It was awful."

If you have a chance to experience a CORR race, keep your eyes peeled for Casey Currie. He's the fast young gun with an eye on the stadiums.